Caltrarose

Calibrachoa

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Sunbelkupi' (Million Bells Trailing Pink)

Summary: The plants of 'Caltrarose' are wider than those of 'Sunbelkupi'. 'Caltrarose' has elliptic leaves while 'Sunbelkupi' has obovate leaves. The pedicels of 'Caltrarose' are shorter than those of 'Sunbelkupi'. The apex of the corolla lobes of 'Caltrarose' are cuspidate while those of 'Sunbelkupi' are truncate. 'Caltrarose' has weaker conspicuousness of veins on the inner side of the corolla tube than 'Sunbelkupi'.

Description:

PLANT: trailing growth habit, very short to short, medium width

LEAF BLADE: medium length, elliptic, narrow acute apex, no variegation, medium green on upper side, no blistering
PETIOLE: short to medium length

SEPAL: short to medium length, narrow, lanceolate, no anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER: single, medium diameter, salverform, very short to short pedicel
COROLLA: weak to medium degree of lobing, two coloured on upper side
COROLLA LOBE: red purple (RHS N74A) with very small dark violet (RHS 83A) eye marking at transition to corolla tube on upper side, purple veins, weak conspicuousness of veins on upper side, violet (RHS N80B) on lower side, cuspidate apex
COROLLA TUBE: medium length, yellow (RHS 9A) on inner side, very weak conspicuousness of veins on inner side
ANTHER: yellow before pollen dehiscence

Origin & Breeding History: 'Caltrarose' originated from a controlled cross in 2003 between the female parent identified as C4442 and the male parent identified as C1519. The cross was conducted by the breeder J. Oud in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands. The new variety 'Caltrarose' was selected from the resultant progeny as a single plant in 2004 based on plant growth habit, flower colour and time of flowering. Asexual reproduction by cuttings was first conducted in August 2004 in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Caltrarose' were conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2008 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 20 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 30 cm hanging baskets on May 23, 2008. Each basket contained 4 cuttings and a total of 5 baskets per variety. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on July 22, 2008. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Caltrarose' with reference variety 'Sunbelkupi'

Plant width (cm)

Pedicel length (cm)

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Calibrachoa: 'Caltrarose' (left) with reference variety 'Sunbelkupi' (right)

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Calibrachoa: 'Caltrarose' (left) with reference variety 'Sunbelkupi' (right)